No Longer Home
by Arwennicole
Summary: Summary: During a mission over a year ago, former Agent Natasha Romanoff/Barton went missing, leaving Clint alone to raise their two children. Is Natasha truly gone? What happens when Clint thinks he sees her again?
1. Chapter 1

No Longer Home

By

Nicole

**Disclaimer: I don't own _The Avengers_, that'd be cool though.**

**Summary: During a mission over a year ago, former Agent Natasha Romanoff/Barton went missing, leaving Clint alone to raise their two children.** **Is Natasha truly gone? What happens when Clint thinks he sees her again?**

No Longer Home

Chapter 1: Single Parenthood

Clint Barton woke up to the annoying buzz of his alarm clock. Turning over, he hit the off button, making him sit up and rub his eyes. Getting up, he pulled on his track suit and went out for his usual jog.

Jogging over the Brooklyn bridge, he didn't have ear buds in his ears like the other joggers, he just listened to the soft "pat, pat" coming from his sneakers as he ran over the bridge, past a few of the joggers that were going too slow for him. Just as the sun was beginning to rise, he went back to the house he lived in, stopping on the doorstep to catch his breath before he opened the door and went inside.

Removing his sneakers, he tossed them next to the wall with the other shoes before heading upstairs to take a shower. This was his normal routine, jog, shower, and then get the kids up for school. Walking into the bedroom, he glanced at the king size bed that was obviously too big for one person, one side of the bed was completely unmade while the other side looked barely touched except for the pillow that laid crumbled up from being in Clint's arms. Diverting his eyes from the bed, he walked into the bathroom and got into his shower.

As the hot water washed away the morning sweat, he leaned his forehead against the tile and let out a deep breath as he rested his hand against the wall. The sound of his titanium wedding ring hitting the wall was the only other sound made besides the water running. Letting out a deep breath he ran his hands over his face as he finished showering and got out, wrapping a towel around his waist as he looked at the time on his alarm clock. It was going to be 6:00 on the dot again, the right time to get his kids up for school. Pulling on his clothes, he made his way down the hall as the annoying sound of an alarm clock went off.

Opening the door, he found his thirteen-year-old son still passed out in his bed. A videogame hung from his hand telling Clint that he was up all night playing with his games even after he checked on him before bed. Sighing, he grabbed the handheld game, putting it on his son's nightstand. "Sasha, wake up," he told his son.

"Go away," the teenager muttered.

Clint rolled his eyes as he grabbed Sasha's blankets, ripping them off him. "Up, now," he ordered, "Or I'm getting the bucket again."

"Alright, I'm up," Sasha muttered as he sat up.

Sasha rubbed his emerald green eyes before he dragged his fingers through his sandy-blond head. "Get in the shower, I'm not going to have you be late again," Clint told him.

"Whatever," the teenager muttered.

Clint rolled his eyes as he left his son's room and went down the hall into another room. He hated waking her up early, but at least she didn't throw things at his head like Sasha normally did whenever Clint went to wake him up for school.

Walking into another room, he smiled to see a halo of red curls on a pillow, the rest of his daughter was buried under the blankets. "Morgan," he whispered softly, kissing the top of his daughter's head, "Time to wake up sweetie pie." The little girl stirred, making Clint smile and touch her disheveled hair as her grey eyes popped open, the only trait she got from him.

"Hi daddy," she whispered.

"Hi there, munchkin, time to get up okay?" he asked.

She nodded, rubbing her eyes as Clint grabbed the clothes he and Morgan had picked out the night before as Morgan got out of bed and he left her alone to get dressed that morning.

As he stood in the kitchen getting things ready, he rubbed his forehead because of a headache that was starting to form. "You know, would be nice to actually have a house that had a working shower," Sasha muttered as he walked in.

"Maybe if you didn't stand in the bathroom for ten minutes while the hot water's running it'd be warm when you got in," Clint answered.

Sasha rolled his eyes as he propped his feet up off the coffee table. "Hey, feet off the table. Told you a million times now," Clint scolded, "You wouldn't do that if your mom was around."

"Well she's not around," Sasha answered.

"Where is mommy?" Morgan asked as she walked into the kitchen.

Clint sighed as he crouched in front of his daughter. "Mom's dead," Sasha answered bluntly.

"Sasha!" Clint snapped.

"What? You walk around here like she's going to come home any minute, when you screwed up and she's now dead," Sasha answered.

Morgan's eyes grew wide. "Mommy died?" she asked.

"No, no," Clint answered, lifting his daughter up into his arms, "Mommy's not dead, we talked about this remember? Mommy's been lost and we're trying to find her."

Morgan hugged her daddy tight with a trembling bottom lip as Clint hushed her softly, pacing the floor with her to calm her down again. He set her into her chair so she could eat her breakfast and he walked over to the chair his son was sitting in. "Hey, stop talking like that around her," Clint told him.

"You keep walking around here like mom's going to come home any minute, when you screwed up and she's gone now," Sasha answered.

The two Barton men were squaring off and Clint glared at his son. "You just sit down and eat, we're leaving in twenty minutes," he told his son coolly.

"Whatever," the teenager answered before going into the kitchen.

"Don't you dare talk to Morgan about death again, if I come back downstairs to finding that girl crying you're going to get it," Clint warned him.

While Sasha went to sit down and eat, Clint went upstairs and went into the master bedroom again. He and Sasha always butted heads, ever since Natasha disappeared they did nothing but argue. This wasn't the first time the young man blamed Clint for her disappearance. He was the last to see her before the entire mission went south and he blacked out because of the sonic arrow he had released. Woke up with his ears ringing and Steve standing over him.

He wished he could remember what happened that day, it was just bits and pieces. He remembered seeing Natasha, the sonic arrow, and then Steve standing over him. He had no memory of what happened in between even though Tony told him that he been awake the entire time and was fighting Hydra agents that had surrounded him.

Running his hand over his face, he let out a deep breath as he adjusted the hearing aids around his ears. The sonic arrow destroyed 80% of his hearing. The hearing aids were an adjustment for little Morgan who kept trying to pull them off and look at them. At the moment Tony was working another type of hearing aid so they wouldn't be as noticeable as he walked around the city. For now, they did their job he could hear.

Walking downstairs, he saw that Sasha was standing by the door. "Ready?" he asked. The young man just opened the door and went outside. Clint looked at Morgan to see her putting on her Velcro sneakers making him smile as he picked her up. "Ready princess?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied, her little arms wrapping around his neck.

He kissed her cheek as they left the house, closing and locking the door behind him. He hit a button on his keys that armed the house while they were gone for the day. Making his way over to the car, he set Morgan into her booster seat. "We set?" he asked after getting her in.

"Set!" she replied, giving him a thumbs up.

Chuckling, he kissed her cheek again before getting in the driver's side and drove off. "Where's your game tonight, Sash? He asked.

"Doesn't matter," Sasha replied, "Are you gonna be there?"

"I haven't missed a game all season," Clint replied as he glanced over his shoulder before changing lanes.

"We're playing at the school tonight," Sasha muttered as he kept writing in his notepad.

Clint nodded his head slowly and the rest of the car ride was silent.

Driving up to the school, Clint got out of the car to get Sasha's gym bag out of the back. "Hello, Mr. Barton," a voice called out. Clint handed Sasha the bag.

"Have a good day, Sasha. I love you, kid," he told his son, saying the last part quietly so not to embarrass him.

The teenager didn't answer and just went up to the school. "Mr. Barton," the voice called again making him sigh and turn around.

"Miss Lloyd, hi, how are you?" he asked putting on his best smile.

"I am doing great, how are you? How are you taking care of the kids and everything?" she asked.

"We're doing alright. Getting into a routine now," he replied.

Miss Lloyd smiled, her brown eyes shining as she flicked her blond hair over her shoulder. "You know if you need anything you have my number," she commented.

"_I did, threw it with the other twenty thousand numbers_," he thought to himself, "Yeah, we're doing alright though thank you."

"How are the kids adjusting?" she asked.

Clint walked over to the driver's side of the car. "We're doing fine, aren't we, Bug?" he asked, looking at his daughter.

"Right!" Morgan replied beaming.

Suddenly he felt a hand slide into his jacket pocket and it was Miss Lloyd's hand. "Just in case you lost it, remember, I'm around if you need me," she said in a flirting voice before she walked away. Clint watched her walk away and took out the scrap of paper that had her number on it.

"Daddy, why do these ladies want you to call them?" Morgan asked.

"Because they are trying to get in a friendship with me like your mommy and I were," he replied as he got in the car, throwing the number into the ashtray and closing it, "Ready for pre-school?"

"Yeah," she replied smiling as he drove off.

**(Avengers Tower)**

Clint walked onto the top floor of the tower, rubbing his face. "I swear if I get another number slipped into my pocket I'm just going to start sewing all my pockets closed," he muttered as he sat at the table.

"Coffee?" Pepper asked.

"You goddess you, yes, please," he answered a she handed him a full cup.

"Another rough morning?" Bruce asked.

"I'm a single father raising a teenager and a five-year-old on my own until my wife is found. When are my mornings never rough?" Clint asked.

Pepper gave his shoulder a squeeze before she sat across from him. "Sasha again?" she asked.

"Yeah, had to diffuse another "mom's dead" bomb he dropped on Morgan again," he replied.

The entire room was silent and Tony cleared his throat. "You know, Clint, it's been a year and we've been going back all of the evidence, it wouldn't be too farfetched to…" Steve started to say.

"My wife's not dead, alright?" he answered, looking at all of them, "She's missing, someone has her."

He got up and rubbed his forehead as a headache started to come on. "Natasha's alive, I know she is," he added. He looked at Tony. "Have you been working on the new hearing aids so I can stop wearing these things?" he asked.

"Yeah, they're in the works, I just want to be sure they don't electrocute you when you put them in," Tony replied.

"Great, I'm going to practice," Clint muttered as he went down to the gym floor to practice his archery just so he could forget his rotten morning.

The team looked at each other as he left the room. "He's getting worse," Jane commented as she leaned against Thor.

"He has faith, gotta give him some credit," Tony answered as he sat down.

"Yet obviously it's affecting his children," Betty commented.

Steve shook his head slowly as he looked in the direction Clint had disappeared to. "We just have to be there and be his friends when we do find something, good or bad," he answered making the team agree.

**Author's Note: I just wanted to let you guys know that this story along with "Can Never Run Away" will be one of the two final stories I will be writing. I have been accepted to the New York Film Academy and I have to provide 100% of my time to the school. I hope you guys love this story and the many more to follow. Thank you guys so much for the support!**

**Sincerely,**

**Arwennicole**


	2. Changes

Chapter 2: Changes

Two weeks later, Clint was sitting in Tony's lab. "JARVIS make sure you're showing Barton on the screen of what I'm saying since I don't know a thing of American Sign Language," he told his AI.

"Certainly, sir," JARVIS answered.

Tony looked at his new little inventions he created to help Clint with his new hearing problem. "Alright, Clint, these new little pieces are a different kind of hearing aid. Instead of going around your ear, they go straight in, no enemy will be able to see them because of their clear color, should blend right in," Tony explained and his words came up on a screen in front of Clint's face. Clint nodded his head slowly in understanding.

Tony took the little pieces in his hands and he sat on his rolling stool, pushing himself over to the archer. He took an alcohol wipe and cleaned the pieces before he slid one into his ear. He watched as the little contraption settled into Clint's ear canal and a single beep sounded to assure the creator that it was on. "Ow, shit, that hurt," Clint muttered.

"Yeah sorry, just lets you know that they're working," Tony answered.

He pushed himself over onto the other side and did the same thing. "Alright, how do they feel?" he asked.

"Like nothing's there," Clint replied.

"Good that's the point, they meld themselves into your ear so you really have no reason to take them out either," Tony told him.

"Waterproof too I take it?" Clint asked

"With our jobs, you better believe it," Ton replied.

Tony stood up and removed the latex gloves, tossing them in the trash. "Have you got anything about the warehouse?" Clint asked as he stood up. The inventor frowned and looked at the archer as he was looking through his computers.

"Nothing's changed, JARVIS has been going through every database known to man and computer," he answered.

Clint sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Clint, you know I believe in the rare things that happen in this job. You know I believe that there are possibilities for everything, but it's within reason and with evidence. That building was incinerated, that was the plan; that was our mission because of Hydra's new weapon in there we had to make sure there was nothing left there. Natasha was probably already dead before the building even blew. The whole ceiling collapsed on her, I saw it," Tony told him.

"Then why didn't any of you help her?" Clint demanded.

"We didn't have time to go back and dig for her, Clint!" Tony answered.

Clint glared at his friend. "My wife's alive, it'd have to take more than a ceiling falling on her to kill her," he muttered before leaving the lab.

Driving up to the pre-school, he smiled to see Morgan standing with the rest of her classmates waiting for their parents. He got out of the car and his daughter jumped up and down excitedly. "Daddy! Daddy!" she called out.

"Hey there, Buggy!" he answered as he picked her up when she ran to him.

He kissed her cheek and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "Have fun today?" he asked.

"I drew a picture of a bird and Miss Richards said she liked it," she replied.

"Oh yeah? You're going to be an artist aren't you?" he asked, tickling her stomach.

Morgan giggled and said teacher walked up to him. "Hello, Mr. Barton, how are you today?" she asked.

"Doing alright, so I hear my little Morgan drew an impressive picture?" he asked as he got his daughter into the car.

"She has magnificent talent," she replied, "Even though I do wonder how things are at home?"

Clint glanced at the woman. "Things are fine, taking things day by day," he replied as he made sure Morgan was strapped in and handed the little girl her stuffed horse, "Here's Pilgrim, sweetie pie." He kissed her forehead and looked at the teacher.

"Your daughter likes to talk about her mother a lot," she commented.

"Yeah, my wife's an amazing person," he answered.

"So she's been found them?" Miss Richards asked.

Clint cleared his throat as he closed the door. "I'm sorry, is there a concern with her that you want to bring up?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I just want to be sure that Morgan is aware of the circumstances, she still talks about when her mother comes home when it is known that…" she started to say.

"Miss Richards, excuse me but everything is fine at home. My wife is still missing but we're doing what we can until I can find her and bring her home," Clint answered.

He walked over to the front of the car. "Have a good day, Miss Richards," he told her before driving off.

Arriving back at Avengers Tower after picking up the kids, he walked in to see Fury standing in the middle of the room. "Nick, what's going on?" he asked as he sent the kids out of the room.

"We need your help again, Barton. Need you to have both eyes open and your mind cleared," Fury told him.

"You got it, what's going on?" Clint asked as he sat down.

Fury hit a button on the table and a map popped up. "We have several Hydra agents forming yet another weapon of mass destruction here in Berlin. We need you guys to go take it out. They have guards for miles and miles around and it's going to take more than one archer to get all the guards," Nick explained.

"What are you saying?" Clint asked.

"I'm assigning you a new partner," Fury answered.

"I don't want another new partner, I'm fine on my own," Clint told him.

Fury looked over at the stubborn archer. "I don't give a damn what you think you can do on your own. I'm telling you that you have a new partner," he answered. Clint frowned when he heard the doors open. "And right on time," he added.

Turning around in his chair, Clint saw a woman walk into the room. She had blond hair that went a little bit past her shoulders, blue eyes, she had on black boots, tight black jeans, a dark blue button down shirt, and a thin pale blue headband was in her hair. "Meet former SHIELD Agent, Bobbi Morse. She was one of the other few agents who made it out when Hydra took over. She's skilled in archery, pilot, artillery specialist, and martial artist. She goes by the name _'Mockingbird_', in the field. I picked her myself to join you in the field," Fury explained. Clint frowned as he stood up.

"Welcome to the team," Steve told her as he walked over, shaking her hand.

"I hope I make a good impression on the team," she answered, shaking his hand, "Honor to meet you, Captain Rogers."

Clint glanced at his former Director and walked by them. "Let's suit up," He muttered as he walked into his room. Bobbi watched him go and rubbed the back of her neck as she looked at the  
rest of the team.

"You have a suit?" Steve asked.

"Yep," she replied.

The rest of the team got up to get ready for their mission.

Clint was strapping his quiver across his chest when he saw Thor and Jane's daughter, Frigga, rush over to her father, the ten-year-old wrapping her arms around his waist the best that she could. "I'll be home soon," Thor whispered to his daughter, before pulling Jane into his free arm as she held onto him. He looked over to see Bruce holding onto Betty, her arms gripping him tightly as he whispered something in her ear, making her smile softly when their son, Elijah, hugged him tightly.

Tony was holding his young son, Howard, on his hip the little boy had his Iron Man helmet on his head when Pepper came out and took their son into her arms, handing the helmet back to him. Tony pulled his family close, kissing them both.

Clint let out a frustrated sigh, rubbing his forehead when he felt a tug on his vest, making him turn around to see Morgan standing there. "You're leaving?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied as he crouched in front of her, "But I'll be back."

She nodded her head slowly and Clint pulled his daughter into his arms. "I love you so much, sweetheart," he whispered into her hair, "So much." He saw Sasha standing there silently, grabbing his son by the arm he pulled him into the tight embrace and Sasha slowly hugged him back. Sasha let his dad hug him and let out a sigh. "I love you too, Sash," he told his son.

"Yeah, love you too dad," Sasha answered.

Clint let his kids go and Sasha picked his sister up. Glancing over, he saw Bobbi standing there watching the "goodbye" and just went over to the Quinjet, climbing in without another word. He got into the pilot's seat and Bobbi sat next to him, putting on the headset. "I don't want to take Natasha's place," she told him.

"Yeah, that's not a subject I'm wanting to talk about," he answered, "Ignition please."

She hit the button as he took the Quinjet off the ground and they flew off towards Berlin.


	3. The Mission

Chapter 3: The Mission

Arriving at Berlin, Clint lowered the Quinjet so it was out of sight of their targets. "Barton, I need you and Morse to take out the guards on top, make sure you cut the electricity once you're inside," Steve instructed.

"Got it, Cap, even though I think I can handle this on my own," Clint answered.

"Take Morse," Steve told him.

Clint glanced at the woman next to him as she slid on her mask, just a simple black piece that covered her eyes. He slid on his sunglasses and let out a deep breath. "Come on," he said begrudgingly as they got off the jet.

They took their places in the shadows and Clint got his quiver ready. "What do you think? Take the top guard out and make our way down?" Bobbi asked quietly.

"Fine by me," he answered before he got an arrow into the bow.

"Listen, Barton, I'm not here to replace Agent Romanoff," she whispered.

"Stop talking and just shoot the guards," he told her.

Bobbi closed her mouth as she fired the top guard as Clint took out the one below him before he shot an arrow into the side of the wall with a grappling hook. He tied it to a branch above his head and reached for the zip line bar he had attached to his quiver. "I'll take care of the guys on the wall, you cut the power to the tower," he told her. She nodded as she watched as he slid down the rope and onto the wall.

Taking out a knife he had hidden in his boot, Clint snuck up behind a guard, covering his mouth and slid the blade across his throat. He kept the man's mouth covered to be sure no one could hear him gasping for air and giving away his position. "Donald, what's your status?" a voice asked over the walkie talkie. Clint cursed silently under his breath as he looked at the walkie lying on the ground. "Donald, come in," the voice repeated.

Reaching down, he grabbed the walkie talkie, hitting the button he started rubbing it against the shoulder of his vest to cause static. "All is quiet," he said into the contraption.

"Where are Hooper and Ryan?" the person asked.

"They both took their break, replacements are coming shortly," Clint answered.

"Tell them they can't take their breaks until they notify me," the person instructed sounding irritated.

"Copy that," Clint answered before he set the walkie on the ground.

Running around the wall, Clint took out his bow and started firing arrows at the guards on the wall. "Morse, what's your status?" Steve asked over their earpieces.

"Two minutes," Bobbi answered.

"Better hurry, Hulk's itching to smash," Tony told her.

Clint took out another knife from his boot, throwing it and watched as it embedded itself into the neck of another guard. "Wall is secure," he told the team.

"Barton, once the power is cut and backup power is on yours and Morse's priority is containment. Any Hydra agents go to leave the location you take the shot, both of you," Steve ordered.

"Fine by me," Clint answered.

"Shouldn't we keep at least one of them to get them to tell us what their next plan would be?" Bobbi asked.

"Too risky," Steve answered.

"Just kill them all," Clint told her, "Don't try to be nice to these people, Morse."

They heard their new recruit sigh. "Alright, I'm ready to cut the power," she told them.

"Alright, cut it in three…two…one," Steve told her.

The power went out and Clint had his bow ready to start shooting Hydra agents. The alarms blared and the backup power went on. "And let the party begin," Clint said with a smirk as he started shooting Hydra agents. He could hear from his spot Hulk roaring as he broke through the wall. He saw Stark flying around shooting Agents and trying to get to the Hydra weapon.

Clint started fighting agents that were running his way, kicking one in the stomach before throwing him over the wall then grabbing the other under his chin and twisted his head, hearing the man's neck snap under the pressure. Ducking down when he sensed someone trying to get him from behind with a knife, he took his bow, thrusting it behind him as the tip hit them in the stomach, making them double over. Grabbing the agent by the arms, he rolled onto his back, kicking him over his head before leaping back to his feet and firing an arrow into their neck.

Grabbing another agent by the arm, he threw them over his shoulder before slamming his foot into their chest, feeling their chest cavity cave in, he took an arrow and stepped it into their chest before putting it into the bow and fired at two more agents running at him, the arrow going through both agents and sent them dead to the ground. Seeing a grenade land next to him, Clint quickly fired another grappling hook into the other side of the wall, swinging away as the grenade exploded. "Barton, you alright?" Wanda asked into the earpiece.

"Just another day in paradise," he answered as he swung up onto the wall.

He swung around with his knife, the blade going across the face of another agent that fell to the ground in pain. Hitting a combination on his bow when he saw a few dozen Hydra agents running at him, he fired the weapon and watched as the arrow exploded in front of all of them. "Goodnight, thanks for playing," he said with a smirk.

Turning to his left to see if Stark was at the weapon to dismantle it yet, he saw something else that made him freeze. He saw a mane of red curls running toward a tunnel. "Natasha?" he murmured.

"Barton, where are you?" Steve asked, "Stark's got the bomb strapped to the weapon we have to evacuate."

Clint didn't answer, he jumped down from the wall using the same rope he had used before. "Barton! What are you doing?!" he heard Steve call out, "Get back to the jet!" Clint didn't answer, instead he just ripped the earpiece out of his ear, throwing it on the ground.

Steve was watching as the former SHIELD Agent headed towards a tunnel. "BARTON!" he shouted.

"He took off his headset," Wanda told him.

"Dammit! Stark, get him and bring him back here! You have five minutes," he told her.

"On it," Tony answered.

He flew off towards the tunnels Clint disappeared to.

Clint ran through the tunnels, looking from left and right. "NAT?!" he shouted. He heard a puddle splash to his left and went in that direction. Running that way, he saw two people running towards another tunnel and he recognized one of them. "NATASHA!" he shouted.

She immediately stopped and looked at him. His eyes grew wide when she just took her gun and fired at him. Tony blocked the bullet before he just grabbed Clint by his shoulders, dragging him out of the tunnel. "Come on, Robin Hood! This place is gonna blow!" he told his friend before he flew them both out of the tunnel.

Both Tony and Clint escaped just as the entire compound exploded and Iron Man just let the archer drop to the ground. "What the hell was that, Barton?! You could've compromised everything!" Steve told him.

"I saw Natasha," he answered, holding his side, "She's alive"

He looked at Tony as his mask lifted. "Stark can tell you, he saw her too," he insisted.

"I saw someone aiming a gun at you, didn't get a good look at them speaking we had one minute before we were going to be shrapnel," Tony answered.

Clint looked at him and his grey eyes narrowed. "You had to have seen her! She was right there!" he exclaimed, standing up, hissing in pain. Thinking quickly, Bobbi rushed over to her comrade but he shoved her away before she could touch him. "Just get away from me, I don't want your help!" he snapped.

"You're hurt," she told him, "Let me look just to see how bad it is."

"Just stay away from me," he snapped, "Again, I don't want your help!"

He looked at the rest of the team. "I saw her, you believe me or you don't I know what I saw. I saw my wife, she's alive," he told them angrily before he went back to the jet. Bobbi watched him go and looked at the others who were silent.

"Tell you one thing, we can't afford to have Legolas go running from his post whenever he thinks he sees Natasha," Tony commented.

Bobbi was silent, she had no place to state her opinions on the situation. "We need to get back," Steve told them, getting everyone back on the jet.

**(Avengers Tower)**

Clint was in his quarters, looking at the knife wound he didn't know he had sustained from the fight. Cursing under his breath he started taking care of the injury himself. One problem, he couldn't stitch it himself. "Great," he muttered. He heard a knock on the door and just used gauze to wrap up the injury. "Yeah," he answered. He looked up when the door opened and it was Bobbi. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I came to check on you," she replied.

"Thanks, but I am fine," he told her.

"That's why your wound is running like a red waterfall down your side," Bobbi answered.

Clint looked at her. "Listen here, cupcake, I don't need anyone's help. I haven't needed help from the time I was twelve and still don't need help over thirty years later. Just do me a favor and leave," he told her.

"It's not my fault that Fury assigned me here," she answered.

"Yeah well, I don't want you here," he told her, "In fact, I would appreciate it if you just left because I'm sure you think I'm just crazy like the rest of the team thinks I am."

"Did I say that?" she asked.

Clint pulled on his shirt and sat down on his bed. "Seriously, right now, I just want you to leave. Just get out, I don't know how many times and how many different ways I want to tell you. Get out, leave, goodbye, adios," he told her. Bobbi stared at him to see nothing but a broken man in front of her.

"You're not alone," she answered.

She turned and left the room as he sat down on the edge of his bed letting out a deep breath. "Dammit, dammit," he muttered, irritated that no one on the team believed him. He looked at his side again and let out a deep breath as he just sat there replaying the moment in his mind. Natasha was alive, he knew it, and he had enough proof to convince himself that it was true. He just wish the rest of the team believed him.


	4. Making things Tougher

Chapter 4: Making things Tougher

Clint got home, his side was throbbing but he loved being home. Putting his duffel on the bench that was by the door, he let out a deep breath. "Daddy!" Morgan said excitedly as she rushed over, hugging him around the waist, "I missed you!" Smiling, he reached down, picking his daughter up ignoring the throbbing pain and held her in his arms.

"I missed you, munchkin," he answered, kissing her cheek, "Where's your brother?"

She pointed toward the den and he could hear videogames playing and he let out a sigh as he walked into the living room. "Thanks for watching them, Lisa," he told the part-time nanny.

"No problem, Mr. Barton," she answered smiling.

Clint set his daughter on the couch before he reached into his pocket, handing the woman the money he owed her for the stay. She left after saying "goodbye" to the kids and Clint sat down on the couch, moving his hands over his face with a sigh. "Daddy, are you okay?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah, I just got hurt a little fighting bad guys," he answered, pushing her hair from her eyes.

Morgan sat beside her daddy, her head resting on his shoulder. Clint held her close, kissing her forehead. He chuckled lightly as his little girl held onto his hand, forcing his hand open and she started tracing the lines on his rough hands. The little girl started humming to herself before she just snuggled up into Clint's side ad dozed off. Clint knew that his daughter hardly slept when he and Natasha weren't home. She always slept better when one of them were home because she slept and ate, but with Natasha gone the option of staying home all the time wasn't an option.

He picked her up and carried her upstairs to her room. Getting her into her little bed, he pressed a kiss to her temple before he left the room.

Walking down the stairs, he saw Sasha standing in the kitchen getting himself something to eat. "No "hi" to your dad?" he asked.

"Hi," Sasha answered, closing the fridge.

Clint rubbed the back of his neck as his son went to walk by him. "Sasha," he called to him, but the teenager kept walking, "Sasha!" He felt his temper begin to flare up when his son continued to ignore him. "Arhoswch iawn yno neu os byddaf yn thynnwch y plwg pob electronig yn y ty!" he snapped. (Stop right there or I unplug every electronic in the house!)

Sasha stopped and looked at his father. "Beth?" he muttered. (What?) Clint stood in front of the boy.

"I don't know what the hell I did, but this little pity me, pity me, party you're throwing is getting old and it's been getting old for about a year now," Clint answered.

"So what? You can't control me," Sasha told him, "Why don't you do me a favor and get out of my face?"

Before Sasha could walk away, his father grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "You listen here you smartass little shit! I am the father, therefore I will always be in your face especially when you give me attitude over something I had no control over! And controlling you? I have never controlled you, every decision you ever made I supported. This new thing of where you ignore dad or insult me everything you walk in the damn room is getting old!" he snapped.

"I don't care what you think, it's your fault this all happened. I don't care what you say but you could control it!" Sasha snapped before he shoved his father off him.

He looked at his father with a glare. "Ffyc chi, yr wyf yn dymuno i chi wedi marw!" he snapped before spitting in his father's direction and stormed upstairs. (Fuck you, I wish you had died!) Clint stood at the bottom of the steps, watching his son run up the stairs and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Bydd y bachgen fydd marwolaeth i mi, yr wyf yn gwybod ei fod yn gwneud hynny," he muttered. (That boy will be the death of me, I know he will.)

Walking over to the couch, he lied down and ran his hand over his face with a frustrated sigh before he started to doze off.

Later that night, Clint was fast asleep on the couch when he woke up to the sound of pounding on his front door. His grey eyes snapped open as he lied there in silence for a minute and heard the pounding again. Reaching under the couch, he found the gun he had hidden underneath it before making his way to the door. Looking through the peephole his eyes grew wide at who was on the other side of the door. "What the hell?" he muttered. Opening the door, he was shocked to find his son standing there with a cop.

"Is this your son sir?" the officer asked.

"Yes," Clint replied, nonchalantly putting his gun into the back of his jeans, "What's going on? Why the hell aren't you in your room?"

"Your son was found with a group of boys throwing rocks through a window. Lucky for him it was a warehouse that hasn't been touched for over a decade," the officer told him, "So no charges will need to be filed."

Clint rubbed the back of his neck as the officer let his son go and the boy went into the house. "I'm sorry, officer, I'll handle this," he answered. The officer nodded his head slowly.

"Have a goodnight," the officer told him before leaving.

The archer closed the door and his grey eye narrowed at the teenager who was leaning against the wall. "I don't get what the hell is wrong with you, Sasha. Throwing rocks through a window? Have you lost your mind?" he demanded.

"Can I just go to bed?" Sasha asked.

"No, no you can't, you will plant your ass right there on the couch and you WILL talk to me," Clint answered angrily, "And don't you smart off to me boy because you're two steps away from learning how to fly like Stark!"

Sasha just sat on the couch and stared at the wall. "I don't get it, I'm doing my best here. Your mom's not here, I got it. You miss her, I got that too. You have a five-year-old sister that depends on both of us and yet the one person who can protect her while I can't is acting like a goddamn hooligan!" Clint exclaimed.

"You were a thief, what's the difference?" Sasha demanded.

"The difference? The difference is I didn't have anyone who gave a flying fuck about whether or not I lived or died! I didn't have parents who put their lives on the line for me! I had no siblings that loved me unconditionally! I had no one, Sasha. You have EVERYTHING! Fuck, I think your mom and I even spoiled you a little!" he answered.

Sasha glared at him. "I did what I had to do to SURVIVE, Sasha. When SHIELD found me I was nothing! I had nothing, I was nothing!" he spat.

"You still are," Sasha answered as he stood up, "You're not mom, you won't ever be mom to try to make it so I'll listen to you. She was the one who put my ass in line while you just stood there and watched her and hid behind the corner like a stupid little girl! Because you're so afraid of being just like your alcoholic father you didn't do anything to make me take you seriously! You're weak, and you let mom die, and I will forever hate you for it."

Before Clint could stop himself, he grabbed the teenager by his hoodie and slammed him against the wall his fist cocked back. "DAD!" Morgan screamed from the doorway. Clint stopped himself and let Sasha go who just stared at him. He backed up and Sasha ran up the stairs without another word, slamming the door behind him. Clint stood there staring at his still clenched fist before opening it and looked at Morgan who was staring at him with wide eyes still.

"Morgan, I didn't mean it," he told her.

He felt his stomach twist at his words and it made him sit down as he felt his knees about to give out. He was about to strike his son, about to punch him across the face. If Morgan hadn't screamed he probably would've. Letting out a deep breath, he put his head in his hands as he closed his eyes tight. "Natasha, I need you, where are you?" he muttered, letting out a deep breath.


	5. One Heart to Break

Chapter 5: One Heart to Break

Clint walked into the Avengers Towers exhausted. There were bags under his eyes showing that he hadn't slept. "Are you okay?" Bobbi asked when she saw him.

"What business is it if yours?" he muttered as he sat down.

"I'm just trying to keep the peace here," Bobbi answered, her hands raised.

Clint rubbed the back of his neck, letting out a sigh. "When was the last time you slept?" she asked.

"What day is it?" he asked, rubbing his forehead.

Bobbi frowned as she stood up, pouring some tea. "Give me coffee," he muttered.

"Tea's better to help you relax," she answered, placing the cup in front of him.

"I don't want to relax, I want to find my wife she's out there," he insisted.

Bobbi shook her head slowly as she sat across from him. "I read about your mission, the last one that had Agent Roman…" she started to say.

"Natasha," he muttered, "Dammit her name is NATASHA."

The blond nodded her head slowly, looking at him. He was obviously a broken man, just staring at the cup in front of him. His thumb twisting the wedding ring on his left hand. "She was an incredible woman, I never met her officially…" she started.

"Whatever story you heard about her, none of them compare to the woman she is," he answered.

There was silence again as he rubbed his forehead. "I almost hit my kid," he finally admitted, "My son, I almost hit my son. Had him pinned to the wall and everything." Bobbi frowned, looking at him. "He blames me for his mom's death, called me a coward. Told me everything I didn't already know, told me I failed the entire family I just…" he trailed off.

"You snapped," Bobbi said softly.

Clint dragged his fingers through his hair. "My kids mean everything to me, especially since the fact we thought Nat couldn't even have kids. Imagine that, we were told from the start that she was unable to have kids because of what the Red Room did to her. They ran tests on her, trying to create their own Super Soldier serum. They told Natasha her reproductive organs were basically useless, scarred beyond repair. Imagine our shock when we were told she was pregnant with Sasha," he said with a slight chuckle, "She thought they were lying, demanded more tests and she wanted to be sure they weren't tampered with."

"And then the tests came back positive," she murmured.

"All of them, she had to sit down because she was in shock that she was actually pregnant. Then we were both terrified because look at what our jobs were, didn't exactly say "parent material" in the description. We were gone all the time, saw each other when our missions were done," he answered.

He smiled a little as he traced his finger around the rim of the cup, staring at the light brown liquid inside. "Then Sasha was born, I remember that day clearly. Natasha was so stubborn, so fearful of any of the doctors she didn't trust anyone, only me. She didn't trust anyone to take our son away, she insisted we were having a son when we both told the tech we didn't want to know the sex of the baby but she knew. She knew what she was having. The day he was born, he was born in our home on her terms. I asked her after he was born why she picked our private home, our quarters to deliver our son. Her answer was because it was the one place she felt safe away from SHIELD and her past," he explained.

"They would've taken Sasha and tested him to see if the serum was in his system," Bobbi murmured.

"Hence why she insisted on being as far away from SHIELD as possible during her maternity leave. I took paternity leave so I could hide them," he answered.

"You didn't trust Fury?" Bobbi asked.

"We trusted Fury, we didn't trust the people who worked for him," Clint replied.

He twisted his wedding ring around on his finger. "When did you marry her?" she asked. He scratched the back of his neck as he thought about it.

"Um…probably a few weeks after she turned eighteen," he replied truthfully, "I was…"

He started counting in his head. "Twenty...yeah I was twenty. Wasn't much of a proposal, we were both on a mission together in Budapest," he added. Smirking as the memory played in his head like a movie.

**_ Natasha fired several shots at their target's bodyguards when Clint rushed beside her. "They say Budapest is nice this time of year," Clint quipped._**

**_"You hear to make jokes, Barton?" she asked as she fired another shot._**

**_ Clint jumped up from his hiding place firing an arrow at the enemy, ducking down and covering Natasha's head as the bomb went off. "I got a question to ask you," he told her when they were surrounded. Grasping his partner's arm as they stood up, he used his weight on his knees and feet to pivot as he swung her around and she struck out with her foot kicking one man in the face before he let her go._**

**_"What's that?" she called out as she wrapped her legs around one man's neck, throwing him to the ground._**

**_"How about we get married after this?!" he called out as he ducked from a punch aimed at his head._**

**_ He saw her glance at him as if he were crazy. "Still making jokes, Barton?!" she called out as she took out her knife, cutting through one man's leg._**

**_"If you say "yes", no it's not a joke! If you say "no" then yes it is!" he answered._**

**_"Think we can handle each other 24/7, 365?" she asked._**

**_"We do now," he pointed out._**

**_ She ran over to him as he pulled out his bow again. "Then I accept!" she called over the noise of gunshots._**

**_"Name the time and place, Nat!" he answered as he fired another exploding arrow._**

**_"After we're done here, I think there's a courthouse down the street!" she called out._**

**_"Sounds like a date!" he answered before he jumped over a car, landing in a group of the men, sending them all to the ground in the process._**

Clint stared at his wedding ring. "We were married in Budapest, then we had the damn thing legalized when we came back to the states," he added.

"Sounds like you guys were quite the team," she answered.

He looked at the woman. "We are a team," he murmured. Bobbi nodded her head slowly, her heart breaking for this obviously heartbroken man. Clint's bottom lip shook a little but he bit the inside of it to make it stop. Clearing his throat, he got up from the table, turning to leave the room. "Morse," he called to the blond.

"Yes?" she answered.

He looked at her. "My wife is alive, I have to believe she's alive. She's what keeps our family together and it's falling apart since she's been missing," he told her before leaving the room. Bobbi sat there, staring at his now empty chair with a frown as she sat back with a heavy sigh.

Entering his quarters, Clint stared at the bed he and Natasha used to share before they found their own apartment outside of Avengers Tower. He walked over, his hand touching what was normally Natasha's side of the bed. He sat down on the bed, grabbing the pillow that sat there and pulled it to his chest taking in her usual scent. That beautiful scent of lavender and gun powder, the smell that was uniquely Natasha. His heart broke as he tried to keep himself together. "I don't know what to do, Nat. I'm trying to keep our kids together but I don't know how to do this without you. Shit, Nat, we were supposed to learn how to raise these kids together," he muttered as he stood up, throwing the pillow on the bed.

He let out a deep breath, closing his eyes when his body began to shake. "Why won't they believe me?" he asked under his breath as he stared at the window, "Why won't they believe me?!" He stared at himself in the mirror before he struck out and punched hard into the mirror to the point the noise echoed throughout the

Bobbi was walking to her quarters when she heard crashing coming from the room. "Barton?" she called out as she rushed over to the door. When she realized the door wouldn't open, she started banging on the door. "Barton!" she called out again, "CLINT OPEN THE DOOR!" She let out a frustrated breath. "JARVIS open this door," she ordered.

The door slid open and she ran inside to see glass and blood everywhere. "Clint?" she called out. She saw him wrapping a towel around his hand.

"I'm fine," he muttered before leaving the room, "I have to go get my kids from school."

Bobbi watched as he left and looked around the room with a frown. They were losing him, and they were going to keep losing him until one of them decided to help him at least try to find his wife.


	6. Time Marches On

Chapter 6: Time Marches On

Clint was sitting in his living room watching Morgan play with her toys. There was a game playing on television but he wasn't paying attention. Sasha was sitting in his chair with his notebook in hand writing. "What are you writing there, son?" he asked. Sasha glanced at him.

"Wouldn't you like to know," he muttered.

Clint sighed as he stood up and walked over to Morgan who looked at him with bright eyes. "What are you doing, sweetheart?" he asked, touching her sandy-blond curls.

"Playing, this doggy is hurt so we have to go to the doctor," she replied.

"Yeah? Got him in the little ambulance and everything," he said smiling.

He loved his daughter's imagination of helping people. "When I grow up, I'm gonna be a doctor to help you and mommy when you are hurt," she replied.

"Mom's not coming back, Morgan, so stop talking about her," Sasha told her angrily.

Morgan looked at Clint who just shook his head at her. "Sasha, knock it off, your sister's having fun over here," he answered.

"She's five and you keep lying to her," Sasha told him.

Clint looked at his son. "What is with you? You can't even have a quiet afternoon here?" he demanded.

"What? Sitting here waiting for mom to come home when she's not?" Sasha answered getting up.

He stood in front of his father. "Are you going to try to hit me again if I keep saying the truth?" he demanded.

"I will never raise a hand to you again, Sasha. You are however, my son, and whether you like it or not you are stuck with me kid and I can make your life a nightmare if I damn well please. As in today you have something to do," Clint answered.

Sasha stared at him. "We are going to Avengers Tower today, you're still on lockdown for that stupid stunt you pulled the other night with the warehouse," Clint told him.

"I'm not going anywhere," Sasha answered as he flopped down.

Clint stared at him. "Yes, you are, get your ass up out of that chair before I drag it out of that chair," Clint told him. Sasha frowned as he slowly got out of the chair and Clint picked Morgan up as they left to go to the tower.

Arriving at Avengers Tower, he saw everyone standing around the table. "You guys know what to do," he told them as he shooed his children away. Morgan hugged her daddy tightly for a second before she went off to play with her other toys in the other room. "What do we have?" he asked

"Barton, we weren't expecting you," Fury stated.

"Bobbi sent me a text," Clint answered as he stared at the screen.

He saw another base. "Hydra's been working on a secret project here in Dublin," Steve replied.

"When are they going to stop with the projects?" Clint asked as he leaned against the table, "We've already destroyed like what? A dozen of these?"

The team looked at each other and Thor nodded his head. "We believe that they are going to attack New York in three days according to one of our spies," he told the archer while the rest of the team looked at the demigod as if he had lost his mind.

"Of course they are, what's our plan of action?" Clint asked.

"You, Lady Morse, and I going to go in through their tower here," Thor replied, gesturing to the top.

Clint nodded his head slowly. "Perfect," he murmured, "Knock out their power grid?"

"That's the thing their power grid this time the only way to turn out the power is if you know the password to get into the system. Even Thor's lightning won't be able to turn it off," Bobbi answered.

"Master Archer, this won't be easy," Thor told him.

"When is it ever easy?" Clint answered, looking at his friend who nodded his head slowly.

He let out a deep breath, cracking his neck. "Let's get this party started people," he told the team as he went to get ready for the mission.

"I thought we were going to have him sit this out?" Steve asked.

"Make Clint leave the team? No, we need him," Bobbi replied as she went to get ready for the mission.

**(Dublin)**

Clint let out a deep breath as he stood next to Thor when the platform opened under the Quinjet. "Are you ready, Master Archer?" Thor asked. Clint slid his sunglasses over his eyes.

"Another day on the job, my lightning powered friend," Clint replied with a smirk.

Thor grinned back before both archers dove out of the jet while Thor swung his hammer and flew after them.

As they were reaching their target, Thor reached both archers grabbing Bobbi by her wrist while Clint gripped his cloak as they slowed down landing on the roof. "Always a pleasure landing with you, Thor," Clint said with a smirk. Bobbi watched as he rushed down the hall with stealth, checking around corners for guards. He looked at two of his comrades, he gestured for them to be quiet before he reached into his quiver, removing a smoke grenade arrow.

Aiming for his target, he let out a single breath before releasing the arrow, landing right on his target and smoke filled the room. Guards started rushing down the hall, shouting in their native languages when Thor swung out with his hammer, sending one man back into a group of his friends. Alarms started blaring, sending the three of them down the hall. "Alright you guys, you're up," Bobbi said into her earpiece before she slid across the floor ducking back as a Hydra agent tried to hit her with a dagger. Removing her own dagger, she sliced his Achilles tendon, making him scream and pain falling to the floor. She gasped when a man grabbed her by her hair, throwing her into the wall.

Clint heard her grunt in pain, looking over he saw three or four men surrounding their new teammate. "Mockingbird!" he called out to her. While her arms were pinned to the wall, Bobbi swung up with her feet, kicking two of them men in the chest before she head butted the man to her left. Pulling out another knife from her belt she struck out with her free hand sending the man dead to the floor. She looked at her new partner before a guard grabbed Clint from behind.

Letting out a shout, he used his upper body strength to throw him over his shoulder. He dropped down, kicking another man's legs out from under him. Bobbi ran over, grabbing Clint's arm as he swung out, sending her over to another guard who she struck in the face with the heel of her boot.

Clint grinned as he pulled out his bow, hitting the combination as the arrow heads changed. "Thor! Let's blow this place wide open!" he called out.

"With pleasure," Thor answered.

Clint fired an arrow into the door as Thor threw his hammer at it, both slamming the control room wide open. Both of them ran into the room with their weapons ready and what they saw shocked them both. "Natasha?" Clint said stunned when he saw the red head standing there with her gun raised.

"Natalia!" a voice called out.

She glanced over her shoulder and fired at both of them which Thor used his hammer to easily block the bullets aimed for them. "No! Natasha!" Clint called out moving to go after her.

"Master Archer!" Thor called out.

Clint ran down the hall after her. "NATASHA! WAIT!" he shouted. Thor ran after him when Natasha stopped and swung a grenade their way. Thor blocked it before he grabbed Clint and pulled him to the side to protect him from the blast. "NATASHA!" Clint shouted.

"She's gone, my friend, she's gone," Thor answered, "We need to get out of here."

Clint looked in the direction Natasha went to and his heart deflated to see nothing but a wall of rubble. "Clint, we must go!" Thor urged, pulling him down the hall.

When the mission finally ended, Clint was piloting the jet in silence. Bobbi was staring at him to see that his eyes were red from the unshed tears he was refusing to shed. "I saw her, my friends, Lady Natasha is alive," Thor insisted.

"Impossible," Steve insisted.

"I think Clint's delusions are now infecting the entire team," Tony answered, "Natasha is dead, nothing will bring her back."

"Then she was a close lookalike," Thor answered.

"Could be, they know his weakness," Bruce stated.

Thor looked over at his friend to see him silently piloting the jet, pretending as if he weren't listening to them call him crazy. "This isn't healthy, he's affecting his children with these thoughts," Wanda insisted. Clint landed the jet and he looked at the team.

"If you have something to say, now is the time to say it. My wife is alive, I know what she looks like and that was my wife," he told them, "You don't have to believe me, but it's the truth."

"Clint, we all saw Natasha di…" Steve started to say.

"SHE'S NOT DEAD!" Clint shouted, making everyone jump.

He stared at all of them, seeing that none of them believe him. "I have the proof here, Barton," Tony told him. He took a file that was above his head in the jet, tossing it at Clint's feet. "The medical report, the body we found was Natasha's body. The DNA matches, she could only be identified by her dental records, it's Natasha," he insisted.

Clint stared at the pictures and Bobbi saw the tears swimming in his eyes. He glared at all of them. "That's not here," he told them.

"Medical…" Tony stated.

"It's not her! I need my wife to be alive! I need her to be okay," he snapped.

With that, he stormed off the jet, not looking at the medical records. Bobbi picked up the file and looked at the rest of the team. "You do know hope is all that is holding this man together. Why are you trying so hard to take that away from him?" she demanded angrily.

"Why feed hope where there isn't any?" Steve answered.

"Because if you take whatever hope is left in him, you will kill him. We're a team we're supposed to help each other not tell each other we're crazy!" she snapped.

She stared all of them. "Clint _needs_ us to believe him! I don't care if it's just a delusion but until he finally gets over his denial whether it's true or not, we will be there for him. We will help him because he needs his team!" she snapped. She took the file and walked off the jet, leaving the rest of the team there to think of what she had said.


	7. The Missing Pieces

Chapter 7: The Missing Pieces

Bobbi was sitting with Clint as he was watching a movie with his children. She noticed that he wasn't really paying attention to the movie playing, more thinking because of the way his eyes were glazed over. Standing up, the blond made her way over to the wall and saw a few photographs on the wall of the Romanoff-Barton family over the years.

There was a picture of Natasha sitting in a park with a six-month-old Sasha in her lap, the baby was clapping his hands together while Natasha was pressing a kiss to his soft forehead. Her red curls were surrounding them both and both mother and child looked as though they were having the time of their lives. Clint saw her staring at the photographs and stood up. "I have worked with SHIELD since I was sixteen," she told him, "I remember seeing you two walk around the base together. A team from the time you guys got up in the morning."

Clint stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, staring at the photographs. "Each photograph has a special meaning to us," he commented.

"As do most of people's photographs," she answered.

"I meant that each picture was taken after a mission," he told her.

Bobbi stared at the pictures. "A few of them were taken after our children were born, but most of them were taken right after a mission," he added.

"Why a mission?" she asked

"To reassure ourselves that even during the hardest missions there's still beauty in our lives," he replied.

He let out a deep breath. "When did you guys become more than partners?" she asked. Rubbing the back of his neck, he started to think back of that very moment that he and Natasha became more than partners in the field.

"I was…twenty, which made her seventeen," he replied.

He pointed to a picture of the two of them that was hanging on the wall, showed the two of them standing on a beach. The wind was blowing around them, making her red curls surround them both like a red curtain. Her eyes were closed as he was resting his forehead against her temple. His arms were around her waist and her hands were resting over his arm. "We were in Philippines, stopping a weapons smuggler from sending weapons of mass destruction over to a weapons lord in New York," he replied. Bobbi listened to him. "We were successful on our mission, but that was the first time we almost lost each other," he added.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Our covers were blown, apparently they were waiting for us," he replied.

He let out a deep breath. "We were successful on destroying his weapons, but we were both injured in the process," he added.

Clint smiled a little at the memory. "And what happened to you guys after the New York Battle with the Avengers? You guys weren't seen after Stark fell through the sky," she commented.

"Am I being interrogated?" he asked.

"No, curiosity," she replied.

Walking over to the liquor cabinet, he poured himself a drink of vodka. Taking a drink from the small glass, he stared at the picture that was taken that day. It showed Clint and Natasha standing in the middle of the park after Thor and Loki had gone back to Asgard. Clint and Natasha were hugging each other tightly as if they were determined not to let each other go.

_ Clint was lying on the ground, his back ached, his knee hurt even worse as he was lying on the glass covered ground. "Barton, come in," he heard Natasha call out. Wincing in pain, he slowly sat up, undoing his empty quiver. Tossing the case to the side, he held his aching shoulder that probably had several shards of glass in it. "Barton, come in!" he heard her call again, but her voice sounded so far away, "CLINT!"_

_ He let out a deep breath. "Barton, here," he finally answered._

_"You stupid bastard, scaring the shit out of me like that, where are you?" Natasha demanded._

_"Sorry, dear, had go to through a plate glass window to escape the explosion," he replied._

_ Holding his side, he limped his way down the stairs and out the door. Walking into the destroyed mass that was once New York, he saw his wife running up to him. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," he commented. Walking over, she hugged him tightly._

_"You stupid son of a bitch," she muttered._

_ Clint hugged her back, resting his forehead against her temple. "I love you too," he answered._

Clint smirked a little at the memory, letting out a deep breath. "Most of my scars are from the missions I had been on with Natasha," he told Bobbi, "We were a team. We were always a team from the start." She looked over to see his children asleep in front of the television. The children's father smiled a little. "Especially when it came to being parents to our children, we were definitely a team then," he added.

"What was your reaction when she found out she was pregnant?' she asked.

"Shocked, because we had been told her reproductive organs were compromised too much to have children," he replied, "So what the hell when you think your girl can't have kids you're not exactly going to use protection to prevent pregnancy."

He took another swig from the bottle of vodka, making the blond frown to see that this man was just coming apart at the seams. "You're just barely holding it together," she commented.

"I've been with this woman since I was nineteen-years-old, and you guys want me to just forget her like she never existed in the first place, to just move on and raise my kids. I'm sorry, _doc_, but I'm not going to wake up one day and forget the last twenty-three years of my life," he answered.

"I'm not here to ask you to forget about her," she told him, "Believe it or not, Clint, I believe you too about Natasha being alive."

He scoffed. "Yeah, sure you do," He muttered.

"I mean it, Clint," she answered, grabbing his arm.

She ignored the shock that went through her body touching him and just looked at the man. "Clint, I believe you," she insisted, "And Thor believes you too." He looked over at her to see the truth in her eyes as she spoke. "We believe you," she assured him. He was silent as he stared at her.

"So…you'll help me find her?" he asked.

She nodded her head slowly. "We will," she replied. Feeling as though a huge boulder was lifted off his shoulders, he pulled Bobbi to him in a tight hug.

"Thank you," he murmured as she hugged him back.

Bobbi smiled to see his face light up at the idea of finding Natasha. "This is what we do as a team, we help each other," she answered softly. He hugged her even tighter, making her smile broaden a little bit before he let her go.

"We begin in the morning," he told her as he carefully picked Morgan up from the couch.

She nodded before she walked over, woke Sasha up and got the teenager to his room.

The next morning at Avengers Tower, Clint was in the lab with Bobbi when Thor walked in. "Where do we start?" he asked.

"From the beginning," Clint replied, "Thor, do you remember exactly what happened that day?"

They started searching for security tapes that were put up around the premises the day of their mission. "We were searching for Hydra, you and Lady Natasha were the first two Avengers on the site," Thor replied as Clint looked around.

"JARVIS, security footage of our mission last year in Switzerland," he instructed.

"Certainly," JARVIS replied.

The two of them turned around as the footage began to play. It showed Clint and Natasha coming down from the ceiling, attacking Hydra soldiers that had no idea they were coming. "I remember, Nat and I went our separate ways. She was going to get the reactor core that they were going to use while I was getting the data tapes that had their plans on them," Clint murmured.

The footage switched to all of the Avengers arriving on the site. There were five squares showing five different things happening at once, but as Natasha ran around a corner, her screen went black. "JARVIS, back that up," he instructed, "Zoom in on Natasha's cameras only."

They were silent as they watched the footage play again. It showed Natasha with her gun at the ready, running around a corner then the screen went black again. Clint squinted, frowning. "Rewind and play again," he instructed.

"What do you see?" Bobbi asked.

"Shh," he hissed.

He took another step forward. "Zoom to behind Natasha," he added. The AI did as it was instructed and Clint saw a blur behind Natasha's head. "Someone was there," he told them, "And that's no Hydra soldier." He looked at his two friends, feeling his heart clench in his chest. "That wasn't Hydra, this wasn't a Hydra plan," he told them.

"You know all of this by just a blurred image?" Bobbi asked.

"JARVIS, clean up the image behind Natasha," Clint instructed, "Take Natasha and the wall out."

The AI again did as it was instructed to do and they saw a man there, wearing all black, a hood over his head, and a syringe in his hand. Clint's fist clenched. "Why didn't Stark see this?" he demanded.

"Because not all of us have eyes like yours, Robin Hood," Tony answered as he walked into his lab.

"You've had this footage for a year and a half and you didn't see that?" Clint demanded.

"Again, my eyesight doesn't see the little details like yours," Tony answered.

He stood behind his friend with his arms crossed over his chest. "You know who that is, Master Archer?" Thor asked.

"I haven't seen him in over thirty years, but yes I do," Clint replied

His blood boiled as he looked at the scene. "That's Ivan Petrovich, you're looking at the man who turned Natasha into a killing machine," he told the few of the team members that were there, "You're looking at the man who used Hydra to set up a trap to get Natasha."

"You sure it's him?" Tony asked.

Clint rubbed his temple as it started to ache a little.

_ Clint saw a cloaked figure sneaking up behind Natasha. "NAT!" he shouted before firing an arrow. The figure swung around, catching his arrow easily with no problem. Clint ran at the man with his dagger drawn, swinging it at the man's hand. Ivan ducked out of the way, back kicking Natasha before she could get closer. Clint jumped back to his feet, kicking the man in the middle when he came at him._

_"This is none of your concern, Hawkeye," the man sneered._

_"Attacking my wife from behind with a syringe, that's a little old isn't it?" Clint answered._

_ Ivan smirked when Red Room agents surrounded him. Natasha whipped out her other gun that was on her thigh firing shots at them but they dodged and Ivan ran at Natasha full force, tackling her to the ground while Clint was fighting off the agents surrounding him. One struck him on the back of the head, making his world spin as he rolled into his back. He reached into his quiver. "CILNT!" Natasha shouted for him._

_"Eat my sonic arrow you son of a bitch," Clint muttered before he released the arrow right into the agent's throat._

_ He looked over as Ivan stabbed the needle right into Natasha's neck. "NAT!" he shouted just as the arrow went off and the entire building started coming down. He saw Ivan dragging a still fighting Natasha out of the room before Thor grabbed the injured archer and that was the last conscious memory he had._

Clint opened his eyes as he stared at the video footage. "That son of a bitch took my wife, made you guys believe she's dead," he told them.

"What are we going to do?" Bobbi asked.

"Find them," he replied simply, "We find him and I release an arrow into that bastard's throat."


	8. Another Part

Chapter 8: Another Part

Stab, kick, duck, sweep kick, roll, and repeat. Red curls were swinging around her face as she was fighting guards that were surrounding her. Jumping up, she wrapped her legs around one of their necks, sending them to the floor before she thrust her knife into one guard and threw them to the floor. The holograms disappeared and she smirked as she kept her guard up. "Well done my sweet flower," a voice said behind her, making her turn around, "You have done well, Natalia."

Natasha turned around and bowed her head to the person in the doorway. "I have done better," she stated.

"Nonsense, you are a dream," the person answered as he stepped forward.

He placed his hand on the side of her neck and rested his thumb under her jaw, tilting her chin up. "I just wish you would stay in bed with your husband," he told her.

"Forgive me, Alexei, I am unable to get sleep these days," she answered.

"And why not, my pet?" he asked as she walked away from him.

"My dreams disturb my sleep," she replied.

"Should I fetch Ivan for another injection?" he asked.

"No," she said quickly.

She rubbed her bruising arms from all of the other injections that they had given her over the last several months. "It might help you sleep, or…" Alexei said as he walked up behind her, his arm going around her waist and pulling her to him. She felt bile rise in her throat when she felt _him_ pressed against her backside. "I can think of other ways of wearing you out," he whispered in her ear. She felt a chill go up her back and she put on her best smile.

"Whatever you feel is best," she replied before he pulled her out of the room.

Later on, Natasha was lying awake in the large bed, the sheets and blankets pulled up and around her as Alexei snored beside her. Wincing, she got out of bed, looking at the fresh bruises that were forming on her hips. She pulled on her pajamas before lying back down on the bed, curled up in the fetal position. The same position she always fell asleep in. Why couldn't she remember the last twenty years of her life? Where had she gone? Alexei had told her she had been shot by someone trying to target him, that she saved his life. She had been in a coma for the last twenty years of her life.

She stared at the large rock on her left hand, her thumb tracing the jewel that weighed her hand down like an anchor. She was Alexei's wife still. Just the idea of it made her want to puke. In fact…just the thought of it made her get up and rush into the bathroom, quietly closing the door so not to wake her "darling husband" as she emptied her stomach of its contents. Holding her stomach, she wiped her mouth before flushing the toilet and leaned back against the wall. "Come on, Natalia, you are the Black Widow. Void of any emotion, why does this bother you so much?" she muttered to herself. She shook her head before she brushed her teeth and forced herself to go back to bed.

_As she finally fell asleep, she started dreaming. Dreaming of explosions, people's screams, but there was something else. No…someone else. Grey, all she saw was a pool of grey eyes staring at her. "I'm taking a chance on you," a deep, husky voice told her._

_"Why?" she demanded._

_"I'm not going to kill a sixteen-year-old girl who still has a chance," the voice answered._

_ She stared into the eyes and felt an arm go around her waist, picking her up. Immediately she felt safe in this stranger's strong arms. She felt tired, weak, her shoulder ached from a throbbing pain going through it. "Coulson, bring in the medics," he ordered._

Natasha woke up, looking around herself to see that Alexei was standing in the corner with his arms crossed. "You were dreaming, Natalia," he commented.

"Was I?" she asked, sitting up.

Alexei frowned, staring at the woman sitting in the bed. "What is your name?" he demanded.

"Natalia Alianovna," she replied.

Feeling relieved, he walked over and pulled her to her feet. "Come, we have a meeting," he told her. Nodding her head slowly, she went to the closet and pulled out one of the many gorgeous dresses that filled the spacious walk-in. Walking to the bathroom, she got into the shower to get ready for her day.

As she was curling her hair she felt her head begin to throb making her rub her temple.

_ An arrow was stuck in her face. "Do you want to live?" the same husky voice demanded. She was holding her aching shoulder, seeing a long arrow protruding from it. She laughed, wiping the blood from her lips._

_"What do I have to live for?" she asked._

_"There's more to this life than death, Natalia," he answered._

_ The arrow was removed from her face and the grey eyes were back. This time the eyes had a face, a handsome face as he stare at her with concern. He held his hand out to her. "I'm Clint Barton," he told her, "And I'm here to give you another chance to live."_

Natasha felt a jolt go through her. "Clint?" she whispered.

"What did you say?" Alexei asked.

She spun around in her chair and looked at the man. "What is your name?" he demanded. Reaching behind her, she grabbed a pair of scissors and hid them under her scarf as he walked to her. "What is your name?" he repeated. As he got closer, she jumped up and swung the scissors at his face.

"Natasha Barton!" she spat as Alexei grabbed her arm.

She head butted him, but instead of falling back, he grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her. Letting out a shout, she swung him over her shoulder, but he kicked out knocking her feet out from underneath her. She let out another shout, twisting onto her back to kick him off her. "NATASHA BARTON! MY NAME IS NATASHA BARTON!" she shouted in his face. She spit in his face and tried to wriggle her way out of his arms when he pinned her to the floor.

Using her knees she kicked him off her. "Cod 12, agents! We have a code 12!" he called out to his communicator as he chased her.

Natasha flung the scissors at another agent that ran her director. One grabbed her from behind, making her use all of her weight into her back to swing him over her head and onto the floor. Jumping to her feet, she grabbed his gun and started firing at the agents running at her. Three more agents jumped on top of her, making her struggle as hard as she could. "LET GO!" she shouted as she tried to get them off her.

"Oh Natalia, sweet, sweet, Natalia. Why must you make things so difficult?" Alexei demanded as he crouched in front of her.

She spit in his face again which earned a smack to the face. She was able to get a foot free and kicked Alexei in the stomach. She fought as hard as she could against the men who were trying to pin her down. She felt a prick in her neck and immediately she felt her body go numb. "My name is Natasha Barton…I have two children, Sasha and Morgan…I have a husband, Clint Barton…" she said over and over as her vision blurred. The men lifted her up easily, carrying her down a hall. "My name is Natasha Barton…I have two children, Sasha and Morgan…I have a husband, Clint Barton," she murmured, struggling to get the words out.

The men placed her on a table, strapping her arms and legs down. "My name is Natasha Barton…I have two children, Sage and Morgan…I have a husband, Clint Barton," she said for the twentieth time. They placed a rubber mouthpiece into her mouth to keep her from biting down on her tongue. "_My name is Natasha Barton…I have two children, Sasha and Morgan…I have a husband, Clint Barton_," she chanted in her head. She felt the familiar head pieces wrap around her head and she arched her back, screaming at the top of her lungs as the electricity went through her brain.

"The technique isn't strong enough for her anymore," Alexei told Ivan as he walked into the room.

"So every night, we wipe her memory clean, just have to play the charade again and again," Ivan answered simply.

"We don't know what the long term affect is by using the machine that many times," a scientist insisted.

Ivan stared at the woman writhing in pain on the table. "Then we replace her," he stated before leaving the room. Natasha struggled and screamed through the mouthpiece before she passed out from the pain.

Opening her eyes, she looked around. She was back in the master bedroom. "Good afternoon," Alexei greeted as he stood at the end of the bed.

"Alexei, what happened?" she asked.

"First thing's first, what's your name?" he asked.

Natasha stared at him. "Natalie Alianovna," she replied, "Is this a joke?"

"No, just bad to be sure you were badly injured during an assassination attempt from the Avengers," he replied.

"The Avengers?" she asked.

He nodded as he tossed pictures of the Avengers on the bed covers. "They're trying to stop our mission," he told her. She stared at the photographs with a frown.

"I guess we need to stop them won't we?" she asked.

Alexei walked over and pressed his lips to hers. She kissed him back, gripping his arm. "Then let's begin," he answered after pulling back.


	9. Attacker

Chapter 9: Attacker

Clint was walking through the hall of Avengers Tower with Morgan on his hip. The five-year-old was resting her head on his shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. "What's going on, Stark?" he asked.

"Looks like we're having some company," Tony replied as he clapped his hands and threw his arms apart, making his map larger.

Looking at the map, Clint frowned to see several large red dots heading their way. "What is that?" he asked.

"No clue, but they're heading this way," Tony replied.

Clint frowned. "Evacuate the kids," he told his friend.

"Yep," Tony replied standing up as they left the lab.

The two of them rushed down the hall towards Tony's side of the tower. "Where's your brother?" Clint asked Morgan.

"Playing videogames," she replied.

"Of course he is, JARVIS, tell Sasha he is needed in the meeting room immediately. Turn off the videogame if you have to," Clint ordered the AI.

"Certainly," JARVIS replied.

They walked into Tony's living room to see Pepper going over paperwork. "Tony, you only filled these out halfway again," Pepper told him.

"I'll worry about that later, Pep, where's Howie?" he asked.

"He's in his playroom, why?" Pepper asked standing up.

"Avengers emergency no one panic just please go to the nearest exit," Tony replied as he rushed over to his son's playroom.

Walking into the room, Tony found his son playing in the middle of the floor. "Daddy!" he said beaming.

"Yep, daddy's here time to go buddy," Tony answered, picking his five-year-old son up and carried him out of the room.

Clint rushed out of the room, practically jogging down the hall. "SASHA!" he shouted.

"What's happening daddy?" Morgan asked.

"Nothing baby," he replied.

Bobbi rushed out of her quarters. "What's going on?" she asked.

"Someone's coming," he replied, "Get Morgan to the evacuation point."

He handed his daughter over to her, kissing her cheek. "Daddy will be back soon, sweetheart," he told her before running down the hall.

Racing down the hall, he almost ran into Thor who had Frigga and Jane beside him. "What is happening?" Thor asked.

"Someone's coming, we need to send the families to the evacuation points," he replied.

"Papa?" Frigga said fearfully.

Thor touched his daughter's auburn hair. "You will be alright, we need to get you both out of here," he answered.

"Have you seen Sasha?" he asked.

"He was downstairs the last saw him, in the training room," Thor replied.

Clint ran in the direction of the training room. Entering the room, he found his son still practicing his archery. "Sasha, didn't you hear JARVIS's orders?" he asked.

"It's another drill," Sasha replied.

"Hate to break it to you kid, it's not, let's go," Clint answered.

He grabbed his son's arm as he pulled him of the room.

They both raced towards the evacuation point when Sasha stopped. "Dad, what the hell is that?" he asked. Clint looked over and his eyes grew wide.

"GET DOWN!" he shouted.

Grabbing his son, he shoved him to the floor and covered his body with his own as gunfire rained through the room. "Dammit, Stark! You didn't put the shields up!" he spat into his comlink.

"Hey! I can't put the shields up when we're trying to get the families out of here!" Tony snapped back.

Clint kept Sasha's head covered. "Stay down, Sasha," he told him. Sasha just covered his ears, closing his eyes tight as his father protected him from the blasts. "When they have to reload you run as fast as you can," he ordered, "You got me? Don't you dare stop or look back." Sasha was silent as he just buried his head into his father's arm. "Do you understand me?" Clint demanded.

"I understand!" Sasha answered.

"I know you're scared kid, it's okay, but your sister needs you," Clint told him.

The guns stopped and Clint got up. "Run, Sash! Go!" he insisted. Sasha looked back at his father. "GO!" Clint shouted at him. Sasha took off running and Clint dove under one of the islands as more gunfire rained through the room. He watched his son escape the blasts. Grabbing his gun that he had hidden underneath, he started firing several shots at the attackers. "Stark! My son's on his way up," he stated.

"Better hurry up, Barton," Stark answered.

"You will wait for him!" Clint snapped.

"We're waiting, we're not leaving without him," Bobbi assured him.

Clint hissed when he felt a bullet graze his shoulder. "Ah! Dammit," he hissed. Dropping his gun, he rolled across the floor as he dodged more bullets aimed at him. "JARVIS! Cover the windows!" he ordered. The AI did as he was instructed and the windows were suddenly covered with large iron shades.

Upstairs, Bobbi watched as Sasha ran in their direction. "Come on, kid!" Pietro called out. He grabbed the teenager's arm, pulling him into the jet.

"Where's your dad?" Bobbi asked.

"He's downstairs," he replied.

"Bobbi…" Steve started to say but she was already running in that direction.

"Get them out of here," Tony ordered Pietro, "We will meet you back here!"

The rest of the team ran back to the tower while Pietro and Wanda got the families to the safe house.

Clint was pulling on his quiver when he heard a knife unsheathe, making him freeze. He pressed himself up against a locker, listening closely to the person who was trying to sneak up on him. Letting out a deep breath, he removed an arrow from his quiver and strung it up to his bow. Swinging to his left, he aimed his arrow at his target but stopped short at who was on the other end. "Natasha?" he said with wide eyes. She glared at him before she swung her foot out, kicking him in the stomach.

He swung his bow at her head but she ducked and tried to kick his feet out from under him. Clint jumped out of the way when she got up and swung her knife at his neck. Grabbing her wrist, he twisted her arm behind her back and tried to push her against the wall. She ran up the wall, jumping over his head, kicking him into the wall. Letting out a shout, he ducked out of the way when she tried to stab him in the neck. "Nat, it's me," he told her, standing up. He disarmed the knife, throwing it across the room. "It's me, it's Clint," he insisted.

"I don't know you," she hissed before punching at his head.

He blocked her attack, keeping himself on the defense. "You know me, it's me Clint," he repeated.

"I don't care what your name is!" she answered.

"I'm not going to fight you," he told her.

"Then die!" she hissed.

He kept his heads up, blocking every attack she aimed at him. When she tried to use her legs he either dodged or blocked with his knees. "Fight me!" she hissed. She let out a gasp when he grabbed her wrists, pinning her to the wall.

"Natasha, you know me," he answered.

"My name is Natalia Alianovna," she hissed.

"No, it's not, it hasn't been Natalia in over twenty-three years," he answered.

She stared at him. "What?" she asked, her head was starting to hurt again. Why was her head starting to hurt? He pinned her to the wall, her arms up by her head. She glared at him and tried to kick him when he used his legs to pin her ankles to the wall.

"You know who I am, don't let Ivan steal you away," he insisted.

"Ivan is a good man," she answered.

"Ivan took you away from a husband and children that love you more than anything," he told her.

Natasha stared into his eyes and she felt her stomach twist. The grey eyes she dreamt about that morning before she and Alexei got ready for the ambush. Seeing that she was distracted, Clint did the one thing he could think of to try to jog her memory as well as the fact he hadn't seen her in a year and a half. He moved his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her into a kiss. She struggled against him at first but he kept her pinned to the wall and after a moment, she started to realize how good it felt. She started kissing him back, her hands gripping the front of his shirt when the door burst open. "Grab him," Alexei ordered.

"Natasha, you know me, I'm your husband. I've been your husband for over twenty years," he told her as the men grabbed his arms.

He struggled against the men as they started dragging him out of the room. "BUDAPEST! NATASHA! BUDAPEST!" he shouted as they pulled him out. He kicked one in the leg, knocking him to the floor before he threw the other into the wall. "WE HAVE TWO KIDS! NATASHA! TWO! A SON AND A DAUGHTER!" he shouted as more agents grabbed him and pinned him to the floor.

"Kill him," Alexei ordered, "Now this will be the end of the famous Hawkeye."

Clint swallowed hard, knowing the team wasn't going to find him in time he looked at Natasha who stood stoically in the doorway. He let out a deep breath and tried to fight harder, but he had over a dozen men pinning him down. "You might not remember in your head, your heart remembers me," he told her as he heard one of the men load one of the guns, "I love you, Natasha. Forever and always." He closed his eyes, waiting for darkness to claim him when he heard a gun discharge.


	10. Is she Back

Chapter 10: Is she Back

Natasha's eyes grew wide when the Avenger said those words to her, but then the bullet went into his chest. "CLINT!" she shouted before she could stop herself. Alexei looked at her, her eyes narrowed and she swung out her fist connecting to his jaw, sending him flying back. She took out her gun firing several shots at the agents who all jumped back.

"Natalia, what the…" Alexei started to say.

Natasha swung around, kicking him in the chest and fired a shot at him which he dodged quickly. She watched as Alexei took off running and fired another shot at him. Swinging around, she ran over to Clint and dropped down beside him. "Clint, Clint, talk to me," she told him, "Come on, please!" He coughed and let out a groan.

"I thought he would've taken the headshot," he muttered, holding his chest as he sat up.

She let out a sigh of relief, seeing that he was alive. "How…" she started to say when he reached into his shirt.

"Guess this thing still has its use than just getting me in this damn place," he muttered, showing her his Avengers Scan card that now had a bullet in the middle of it, "Here I laughed at Stark for making them bulletproof."

Natasha smiled a little when he reached up and cupped her face. "Hi," he finally said with a smile. She reached up and gripped his hands.

"Hi," she answered.

"You remembered," he murmured.

"I remembered you," she answered, resting her forehead against his, "Well I remember who you are. Everything else is still dark."

"As long as you know who I am, the rest will come later," he murmured as she hugged him tightly.

She hugged him back, resting her forehead against his shoulder when she heard footsteps running in their direction. Thinking quickly, she grabbed her gun and held it up. "Whoa!" Tony exclaimed. The rest of the team got in their defensive stances when Clint stood up.

"No, no, don't," he told them, "She knows who I am!"

He stood in front of her with his arms raised. "No one touch her, she saved my life," he told them.

"She saved you? She attacked the rest of us," Steve answered.

"Alexei was here, he and Ivan brainwashed her," he insisted.

The rest of the team looked at each other and Bobbi watched as Clint stood in front of his wife before he turned around and whispered something to her. She was frowning, but then she handed him her gun after disarming it. Clint touched her cheek, kissing her forehead before he tossed the disarmed gun to Steve who easily caught it. "She needs medical attention, we need to know how extensive the damage is," he told them.

Natasha held her head, it was beginning to throb. Her knees were starting to shake, this happened every time she remembered Clint. It was as if the memory made her physically ill. "Nat?" Clint murmured. Natasha collapsed to the floor, but he caught her arms before she hit the floor. "Stark! Banner!" he called out. Banner rushed over and he looked at Natasha's face.

"Get her to the lab," he told Clint.

The archer lifted his physically ill wife and they hurried down the stairs to the lab.

Placing her on the examining table, Banner attached electrodes to her head. "Clint, open her shirt," he instructed. Clint couldn't find the zipper on the back of the cat suit so he just tore open the front, just as Natasha's brainwaves began to drop.

"Banner what's happening?" he demanded as Banner attached the electrodes to her chest.

"Her heart rate's dropping," Banner replied.

"Why is this happening?" Clint demanded.

Tony rushed into the room to see Bruce doing whatever he could to save her. "Check her neck," he ordered.

"What?" Clint asked.

"Look at her neck behind her ear something!" Tony answered.

He turned Natasha's head to the right, looking behind her ear, but didn't see anything. Clint looked at the ear on the left and he saw what looked like a small piece of dirt. Tony removed it and looked at it. "Banner, get the syringe marked "MLSA"," he ordered.

"What is it?" Clint asked.

"Questions later," Tony answered, "She's not allergic to anything is she?"

"No," Clint told him.

Tony stood over Natasha. "She's crashing, Tony," Bruce told him.

"Move out of the way, Barton if you want her to live," Tony answered.

Clint stood back before Tony thrust the syringe into Natasha's chest, right into her heart. Natasha's back arched and she let out a cough as if someone had just released a chokehold on her throat. Tony removed the syringe and looked at the monitors. "Her heart rate's climbing," he murmured.

"What the fuck was that?!" Clint demanded.

"Memory Loss Saving Antidote," Tony replied.

"What?" Clint asked.

Tony checked Natasha's eyes. "Her eyes are dilated, well that should dissipate in a few hours," he murmured, "If she lives in the next three hours."

"What the hell is going on?" Clint demanded.

"What they put on her was basically a little syringe in her ear. If she remembered her old life at all and she left Alexei's side it would inject a poison in her system to stop everything," Tony explained.

Tony continued to examine Natasha. "The problem is, it's a fast acting poison. You're dead in two minutes," he answered.

"She started crashing in five," Clint answered.

"That's what scares me, I don't know the affects that it will do to her body since she was exposed for so long," Tony told him, "If she lives in the next three hours or even during the night, she's going to be fine."

Clint stared at his now unconscious wife and felt sick to his stomach. "Did you seriously think Alexei would've just let her go with no problem if she went back to you?" Tony asked.

"She's going to be okay," Clint answered, resting his hand on her cheek.

He rested his forehead against Natasha's feeling his stomach twist in a thousand knots. "She's going to be okay," he repeated, resting his forehead against his wife's temple as he held her in his arms without dislodging any of the electrodes on her body. "You're going to be okay," he whispered to his wife before leaving the room.

Walking down the hall, he saw Sasha standing at the end of the hall. "When did you guys get…" he started to say when his thirteen-year-old son suddenly hugged him as tight as he could. Clint stood there in disbelief, hugging his son back.

"Dad, I'm sorry," Sasha told him, "For everything."

Clint rubbed his back, letting out a deep breath, feeling so relieved. "I love you, kiddo, always have," he murmured as Sasha gripped him even tighter, "I always will until the universe crumbles down on top of my head." Sasha had tears in his eyes, swallowing hard. Having his father protect him like he had, knowing that any minute a bullet could've struck him in the head he kept his body over his like a shield. It made him respect his father even more knowing that his father loved him that much he was willing to die for him. "Don't you ever forget how much I love you and your sister, okay?" Clint told him. Sasha nodded his head slowly. He pressed a kiss to the top of Sasha's head before letting him go. "Are you okay?" he asked, "Did any of those bullets get you?"

"No," Sasha replied.

Clint pushed the hair from Sasha's eyes, making sure he wasn't hurt in any way. "Dad, what's going on?" Sasha asked, "And please don't lie, what's happening?" Sasha saw his father's demeanor change and sigh.

"What I am going to tell you, you can't tell your sister because she won't understand," he answered.

Sasha nodded his head slowly and Clint let out a deep breath. "Your mom's been brainwashed by the same people who took her as a child," he stated, "We got her back, but they used a defense mechanism so we couldn't get her back."

"Where is she?" Sasha asked.

"She's in the lab, but Sash…" Clint started to say when his son ran down the hall, "SASHA!"

The teenager ran into the lab and saw his mother covered in a sheet, the torn cat suit now lying on a stool. "Mom?" he called out, going over to the table. He held his mother's hand. Clint stood beside his son, his hand on his shoulder. "She's going to be okay right? Mom, it's me, it's Sasha," he insisted. He touched his mother's face. "Why isn't she waking up?" he asked.

"I told you they put a defense mechanism in her, if we somehow got her back, this device was designed to poison and kill her," Clint explained.

"Mom's tough, nothing can beat mom," the teenager insisted.

Clint gripped his son's shoulder as they stared at the unconscious woman on the examining table. "Dad…" Sasha said slowly.

"Yes, son," Clint answered.

His son looked at him. "Kill the son of a bitch who did this to us," he told his father.


	11. Clint's Rage

Chapter 11: Clint's Rage

Sasha was finally escorted out of the room after a while, but Clint stayed in the lab, watching his wife fight for her life. He looked up as Bruce removed his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Why don't you get some rest, Banner?" Clint asked.

"That's not what's wrong, Barton," Bruce replied.

Bruce let out a deep breath. "I've been running tests on Natasha for the last several hours," he told his friend.

"Yeah?" Clint asked, looking up.

Bruce stared at the tests in his hands, letting out a deep breath. "Bruce?" Clint asked, "What is it?" The scientist/team doctor looked at the man who was staring anxiously at him. "What did you find?" he demanded, "Is she going to live? Is she going to die?"

"She's past the three hour mark so the poison is out of her system," Bruce replied.

"Then what?!" Clint demanded getting irritated.

Bruce frowned as he looked at the clipboard in his hand. "I had to run the basic tests on her since she's been held captive for the last year and a half. I had to run a rape kit on her," Bruce answered. Clint felt his face grow a little warm with anger.

"What did it say?" he asked, "What did you find?"

Bruce let out a deep breath. "There's signs of vaginal tearing, some old some new," he replied, "Some as old as a year and a half." Clint felt his blood boil.

"He's been raping her?" he asked.

"Consistently…" Bruce replied reluctantly.

Clint's eyes grew wide and he looked at his unconscious wife. "Even if she wakes up, she might not even want to," Bruce told him

"He's been raping her," he murmured, running his hand over his face, "Every single day…he's been putting his hands on her every single day?!"

The archer looked over at his friend. "What else did your tests say?" he demanded. Bruce was silent, jumping hen Clint slammed his fist on the table. "WHAT ELSE?!" he shouted.

"Please don't yell at me, Clint," Bruce told him, taking a deep breath.

"What…else?" Clint repeated.

Bruce let out a deep breath, trying to keep his own anger down but he was struggling with it. "A year and a half ago, she was pregnant," Bruce replied, "She's still carrying the physical scars of a miscarriage." Clint's eyes grew wide and Bruce watched as his eyes grew darker.

"Do you know how far along she was?" he asked.

"No, but she was pregnant before she was taken," Bruce replied.

Before the scientist could react, Clint stormed out of the room. "I'll kill him, I'm going to FUCKING kill him!" he spat as he stormed down the hall.

"Clint?" Bobbi called out when he stormed past her.

"Not now!" he spat.

Storming into his quarters, he grabbed his quiver, strapping it around his torso. "Clint, what's happening?" Bobbi asked, rushing into the room.

"I'm going after Alexei," he snapped.

"You don't even know where he went," she answered.

"I'll chase him all around the world if I have to! There's no place safe enough for him to hide!" he snapped.

Walking over to his dresser, he grabbed a gun, putting that into the back of his pants, pulling his shirt over it. Taking a knife from inside the dresser, he buckled that around the inside of his thigh before he looked at her. "Don't you dare try to stop me," he told her coldly.

"I'm not," she answered.

She strapped her own gun around her leg. "I'm going with you," she added.

"No, you're not," he answered, "This is my fight."

"Really? You're going to fight Alexei all by yourself?" she asked.

"I've been wanting to slit the fucker's throat for over twenty years," he replied, "I just thought he was already dead."

"You're going to need help," she told him.

"I don't want your help," he answered.

She grabbed his arm, letting out a gasp when he in turned grabbed hers, yanking her closer to him. "This is my fight," he added.

"And you pulled me into this fight the moment I believed you about your wife being alive," she answered, "It's been my fight for several months now. I'm going with you."

They were staring at each other for the longest time, but then he let her go. "You're going to follow me whether I want you to come or not," he muttered.

"Believe it, Barton, you're stuck with me," she answered.

"You don't even know, Natasha," he stated.

"I don't have to know her, she means that much to you that's all that matters to me," she answered.

Clint frowned, letting out a deep breath. "Besides, I know how to find Alexei," she added.

"How the hell do you know?" he demanded.

She tossed a scanner his direction and he caught it. "I put a homing device on his chopper before he took off," she answered. Clint looked at the scanner and she saw his eyes light up. Walking over, he grabbed her and kissed her cheek.

"You amazing woman!" he told her, "Let's go!"

He rushed out of the room, leaving Bobbi there stunned. Gaining her sanity back, she ran after him towards the top of the tower.

Clint ran onto the jet as Tony ran over. "Whoa, whoa, Barton, where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going after Alexei, you need to stay here just in case Ivan comes back," Clint replied as he got everything ready.

Bobbi climbed up on the ramp. "Wait, we can't go by the Blue Jay can?" Tony asked.

"It's Mockingbird and you're needed here to protect the kids and Natasha," Bobbi replied as she put the headset on.

Tony shook his head slowly. "My kids need protection, Stark. Ivan will come here and he will try to take my daughter," Clint replied.

"How do you know?" Tony asked.

"The man's obsessed with taking girls about Morgan's age and training them to be killers," Clint replied, "That's why."

He hit the button for the doors to close and Tony stepped back. The two of them sat in the seats as the jet flew off into the distance.

After several hours, they reached their destination. "Of course he's going to run to his stupid hideout in Siberia," he muttered.

"What's the plan?" Bobbi asked.

"You keep his bodyguards at bay, I'm going after Alexei," he replied.

Bobbi looked at him with concern in her eyes. "Clint," she called to him as he went to run off the ramp.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Please be careful," she murmured.

He nodded to her before he ran into the snow, heading towards the area he knew where the hideout was. Bobbi got out of her seat and went after him.

Clint was able to get the snow off the door and he fired an arrow into the keyhole, watching as the arrow programmed the passcode into the door. The door flew open, and Clint smiled at her. "Ladies first!" he called over the harsh wind. Bobbi smirked before she grabbed a hold of the side of the door, swinging inside.

Landing in front of a group of men, she stood up. "Hello boys, looks like I took a wrong turn, could you direct me to Moscow?" she asked with a smirk. The men looked at each other before they charged at her. Bobbi whipped out her bow, swinging it at their heads before she jumped up, grabbing a pipe and swung over them. Landing behind them, she fired an arrow at them that caused smoke to fly out from the tip, she took off running. "Better get going, Barton," she said into her comlink before running around the corner, "Alexei's all yours."

"Good work, Bobbi," Clint answered before jumping into the bunker.

Making his way down the hall, Clint had his bow put away but had his gun drawn. He had his gun lowered as he made his way through the halls quietly. Suddenly, he ducked when something was aimed at his head. He looked up to see a magnetic disc above his head. "Well, wasn't sure if you were going to show yourself as Alexei or actually dress as the Red Guardian," he commented, his back turned to his enemy.

"Where is Natalia?" Alexei demanded.

"Far away from you, you sick son of a bitch," Clint replied.

Alexei threw a punch at his head and Clint ducked, kicking his leg out from underneath him. Alexei jumped back and aimed a kick at Clint's head. Clint grabbed his foot and twisted his leg around making Alexei spin around. The Red Guardian wrapped his arm around Clint's throat in the attempt to put him in a chokehold. Clint grabbed his arm, throwing him over his back.

Alexei jumped up, throwing a disc at his head that Clint ducked out of the way from. The Red Guardian fired more discs at him while Hawkeye dodged them, his head covered.

Clint hid in the dark corridors, his hand gripping his bow tightly. "Why don't you come out, Hawkeye? Come and meet your fate head on?" Alexei asked, "You know, Natalia was mine first." Alexei smirked as he walked through the corridors. "How does it feel to know that I was the one who actually popped her cherry, Barton? Knowing I was the first man she ever had sex with?" he taunted, "Yea she seduced a bunch of men since she was fourteen, but none of them got to touch her like I was allowed to touch her."

Clint felt bile rise in his throat, Natasha told him all about her first time. "She was a wildcat then too," Alexei said with a chuckle, "Is she a wildcat in bed when she's with you, Barton?"

Grabbing the bar above his head, Clint swung himself up onto the rails on the platform above his head. "Are you talking about when she jumps me and rides me like a rodeo bull just from watching me work out?" Clint answered before firing an arrow at his enemy's head. Alexei ducked out of the way, firing his gun at Clint who dodged every bullet easily.

"You know, she was having a boy!" he called out with an evil sneer, "Cute kid, too. Looked just like his mother."

Clint pressed his back against the wall, feeling sick to his stomach. "That was her fault she was trying to escape," Alexei commented. The tears were burning in his eyes, thinking about the child they had lost because of them. "Oh how Natalia screamed for that boy before Ivan took him away from her," he added. Alexei was waiting for Clint to reveal his position. "She even had a name picked out for him, kept calling him her little Hawk. So naturally she picked an Irish name to go with your roots, Barton. She was calling him "Shea" at least that was the name she was screaming when Ivan took him away," Alexei taunted.

The Avenger's breathing was shaking, his heart racing in his chest. "Then, it was if she had forgotten all about him. Oh wait, that's because she did. That same day, Ivan wiped her memory clean just so she could remember me. Her true husband," Alexei told him, "That first night I had her back in my arms, ah what a dream!" Clint let out a shout as he ran out of his hiding spot, jumping on Alexei's back and pressing his bow neck into his enemy's throat.

Alexei slammed Clint into a wall, making the archer groan but he kept pressing the bow into his throat. "Natasha's not a prize to be won!" Clint hissed into his ear. Alexei coughed, throwing him onto the floor. He grabbed a knife, slashing at the archer's head but Clint rolled out of the way. Jumping to his feet, he kicked Alexei in the chest, sending the man over a rail.

The Red Guardian landed on his feet, backing up when Clint jumped down, aiming an arrow at his head. He fired his shot, but Alexei dodged the arrow before throwing a disc at his opponent's head. Clint took his knife, throwing it Alexei's head. The knife embedded itself into his shoulder from when he tried to dodge the attack and Alexei shouted in pain.

Taking this chance, Clint ran over and kicked his face, sending him to the floor. Taking his bow, he fired an arrow into his back severing his spine. "Is this how Natasha felt when you took our son away? Numb? Unable to move?" Clint asked, kicking him onto his back, "What about my son? Was he dead when you pulled him from my wife's body? Is that why she screamed? You killed our son before he could live?!"

Clint glared at the injured man who was trying to get away. "Your children were supposed to be mine," Alexei hissed. The Avenger crouched over the injured man.

"You never would've had children with Natasha, because she never gave two shits about you. You didn't know this, Alexei, but she got the doctors in the lab to make her infertile so she could never have your children. The infertility obviously wasn't permanent, because she had mine," Clint answered.

He gripped the man's throat and Alexei's eyes grew wide, gasping for air. "You killed my son before he could live, and now I get to see the fear in your eyes as I kill you," he hissed. Alexei's eyes grew wide when Clint pulled out an arrow from his quiver and held it between his eyes. "Прощай ублюдок," Clint hissed. (Farewell, Bastard!) Then he released the arrow between his eyes as the man screamed for mercy. Bobbi ran down the ramp to see her partner standing over Alexei's body, blood on his face and vest, his body shaking from the adrenaline.

"Clint?" she called.

Clint walked by her, not saying anything to her. "Clint?" she called to him.

"Let's go home," he muttered as he went back to the jet.

Frowning, Bobbi looked at the lifeless body before following him.


	12. Healing

Chapter 12: Healing

Clint and Bobbi made it back to the Avengers tower where Bruce and Tony were waiting at the top with Sasha and Morgan. "Not a word to my family," he told Bobbi, who nodded her head slowly in agreement as he opened the ramp.

The two of them walked off the jet and Morgan ran over to her daddy with her arms wide open. "Hey there, sweetheart," he said smiling, picking her up.

"Where did you go?" Morgan asked, burying her face into his neck.

"I had to go fight bad guys," He replied.

Sasha walked over, hugging his father tightly. Clint hugged his son back, letting out a deep breath.

After getting the kids to settle down, the archer made his way back into the lab. "Any change?" he asked.

"Her vitals have stabilized," Bruce replied.

"She's fine, physically, we just need her to wake up," Tony put in.

Standing beside his wife's bed, he touched her forehead softly as he reached down with his other hand and held her hand in his. Bruce and Tony looked at each other, taking the silent request to leave the room. The two scientists closed the door behind them as Clint pulled a stool up to the side of the bed.

"Hey, Nat," he said softly.

He ran his thumb along her jaw. "I can't remember a time where you slept this long," he quipped, chuckling darkly to himself. He moved his thumb along her knuckles. "I know in your head you're probably wondering why you should come back. I'm sure you could think of a billion reasons to just stay asleep forever," He murmured. Just speaking the words made his heart break. "Natasha…" he whispered, "Alexei's dead, I killed him. I put an arrow right between the son of a bitch's eyes."

Feeling a lump form in his throat. "He cried and plead for his life, while he was lying paralyzed on the floor he begged for his life. Begged for mercy. I couldn't…I couldn't help but wonder how you begged for mercy for our son," he whispered, "How our children would be the one reason you would ever scream and beg for their lives. They're our children, why wouldn't we beg for their lives?"

Clint moved his fingers over her arm. "Remember the day Sasha was born? How we sat in that jet for hours just counting his fingers and toes, making sure he was completely healthy as we were being flown back from Sydney?" he said softly, "I think, Nat, that is the first time I ever saw you shed tears was when you held Sasha in your arms for the first time."

Inside her mind, Natasha was hearing every word Clint was saying and her heart was tearing apart at the memories he spoke about

**_ Clint was kneeling in front of her on the jet floor, holding their screaming and wriggling child in his arms. "It's a boy," he said smiling, looking at Natasha, "Nat, it's a boy." He placed the wailing child on her chest and Natasha felt her heart swell up with all the love she never thought she could have as Clint covered them both with the jet blankets before taking his jacket and covering them both up with it._**

**_"I have a son…" she whispered with tears in her eyes and a smile appeared on her face, "I have a son."_**

**_ She cradled the boy to her chest, rocking back and forth a little as Clint kneeled beside her, touching the baby's tiny hands. "Welcome to the world Sasha Francis Barton," she whispered, "I'm going to love you forever." Clint kissed the side of her head, smiling brightly._**

**_"I love you," he murmured._**

**_ She rested her temple against the side of his head. "I love you too," she answered softly making him smile as he held them both close._**

Clint's bottom lip shook a little as he looked at his wife. "Nat, I still need you here, we all still need you. You can't leave us yet," he told her as he touched her hair, "We still love you, we still want you." He rested his forehead against hers, as he held her hand to his chest. "I never stopped looking for you, remember I promised no matter what I would always look for you," he whispered, "I made a different call for you, because I knew you were different than all of the others." He saw Natasha's heart rate pick up at his words.

**_ Natasha was running through an alley, jumping from a wall to a fire escape when an arrow whizzed by her head. "Coulson, I have the target locked," she heard a deep, husky voice say. She swung up onto the fire escape. "She's on the fire escape!" she heard her attack say._**

**_ Turning around, she tried to kick him in the chest when he grabbed her foot, pinning her to the wall. She let out a hiss and tried to head butt him when he moved his head. She kneed him in the stomach and climbed up. As she reached the top she let out a shout of pain when something pierced her shoulder._**

**_ Falling to her knees she clutched her shoulder to see an arrow sticking out of the back. She looked up and glared at her attacker. "If you're going to kill me, just do it already," she told him through gritted teeth. He looked at her as he crouched in front of her._**

**_"Do you want to live?" he asked._**

**_ Hearing his words made her look up. "What?" she demanded._**

**_"Do you want to live?" he repeated._**

**_"What kind of question is that?" she demanded._**

**_"One that will change your fate," he answered._**

**_ She continued to glare at him. "What point is there to living when you have nothing to live for?" she demanded. She was stunned as he held his hand out to her._**

**_"By giving you a reason to live," he answered._**

**_ She looked at him and then at his hand. "Why should I trust you?" she demanded._**

**_"Because I'm the only chance you have," he replied._**

**_ Looking at his hand, she reached up with her good hand and slipped it into his feeling a strong jolt go through her body. He easily removed the arrow from her shoulder, using her scarf she had dropped earlier as a tourniquet before he took off his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. "I'm Clint Barton, welcome to SHIELD," he told her._**

Clint was touching her hair softly as he watched her fight for the will to live. "Natasha, you have two kids who love you more than anything," He reminded her softly. He sat down in the chair, letting out a deep breath. "I'm not going anywhere, alright? I'm here," he added as he stopped speaking and just sat there silently, watching her all through the night.

The next morning, Bobbi walked into the lab to see Clint still there with his head lying beside Natasha, his hand holding onto hers. Walking over to him, she took a cup of coffee and placed it beside him after pulling up another chair to use it as a table. "Clint," she called softly to him, making him jolt awake.

"Nat…" he said getting worried.

"She's okay," Bobbi assured him, gripping his shoulder.

Clint looked at his wife's unconscious form and sat back. "I brought you coffee," she said softly, handing him the cup.

"Thanks," he murmured before takin a drink of the dark liquid inside the mug.

Bobbi sat beside him. "Has Stark or Banner come in?" he asked.

"A little while ago, checked her vitals," she replied.

"And?" he asked.

"There's no change yet, she's still stable," she replied.

He ran his hand over his face and let out a sigh. "I need her to wake up," he murmured.

"She will in her own time," Bobbi answered.

Clint glanced at her before taking another drink of his coffee. "You know your kids are wanting to see you," She murmured.

"I need to be here with her," he answered.

"Your children need you more," she said softly.

Sitting there silently, he just held his cup in his hand and stared at his wife's still form. "What was all that back in Siberia?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked as he finished off the mug, placing it on Tony's desk.

"Destroying Alexei like you had. Of all the missions you had been on, I had never seen you overkill your target," she answered.

Clint let out a deep breath as he rubbed the back of his neck. "You wouldn't understand," he told her.

"Why not?" she asked, "Because I'm new to the team?"

"You only read the reports Natasha and I allowed SHIELD to enter into the system, her mental state when I brought her back, her skill set."

"Are you telling me there's more to her story?" she asked.

Leaning against a table, he stared at the file that was in front of him. "Are you saying you left things off on her official report?" she asked.

"You tell me, what would you do if you brought back a sixteen-year-old girl who is mentally, physically, emotionally, and sexually scarred?" he answered.

Sitting on a desk, he looked at the blond. "When you literally have to hold her down on the examination table just so doctors can try to document every physical scar on her body, to keep her from breaking the doc's neck with just her thighs," he added, "And you're afraid she will hurt herself if you didn't do something."

"Why did Fury stop your partnership a year after you brought her back when she obviously trusted you?" she asked.

He let out a deep breath, laughing to himself. "Somewhere along the way of this messed up partnership that it was, I found myself not able to breathe when she wasn't around me," he told her.

Bobbi watched as he walked around the room. "The thought of not being with her literally took the air from my lungs. Every mission we would go on I was watching her like a true hawk, making sure every target kept their hands where they belonged and not somewhere that wasn't agreed upon," he added, "Compromised the missions, Fury couldn't risk that so he separated us as partners."

"Yet he reestablished it a few months later," she answered.

"On Natasha's request," he added

"She trusted you," she murmured.

"The only one," he answered.

"You never answered my question, why the overkill?" Bobbi asked.

Clint looked at her. "That man stole everything from her, well Ivan stole more but he stole enough. He was the reason why Natasha came to SHIELD so scarred to where I was assigned to stand guard by her room for the first several weeks to make sure she didn't hurt herself. Then she disappears, comes back just as scarred as she was when I first found her. Not only that but he took our son from her. Took him away before he even had a chance to live his life like his siblings will be able to. Tell me, Bobbi, what would you do if you were in my place?" he asked. Bobbi was silent for a second, looking at the unconscious woman on the bed.

"I'd make sure the man suffered just like she had," she answered.

Nodding his head slowly, he walked over to Natasha and stroked her cheek. "I need her," he murmured, "I've been compromised and no one can fix that." His wife took a deep breath, making him smile a little to know that she was trying to fight. "She and I have red in our ledgers that's how this all started," he told Bobbi looking at her. He felt a grip on his arm making him look down.

"Then…let's…wipe them…out," Natasha said drowsily.

His heart skipped a beat. "Nat?" he murmured as her green eyes fluttered open. She looked to her side to see him standing beside her.

"Clint," she answered.

Feeling his heart soar, he hugged her without hurting her and Bobbi watched as the two of them hugged each other as if their lives depended on it. "I've got you, Nat, I've got you and I'm never letting you go again," he whispered into her hair. Natasha gripped the front of his shirt, a small smile touching her lips as he held her protectively. "I've got you," he repeated softly.


End file.
